Starbucks style: what should you look out for?

During your stay in Los Angeles, you once again realized how influential Starbucks is in the world of coffee. In Germany, Starbucks may be a popular coffee chain, but here it is in second place, as most coffee lovers are drawn to “Coffee Fellows”. What can you learn from the coffee chain to scale your own brick-and-mortar business?

When it comes to running a successful café, you can learn a lot from experts. In this article, I will share the 3 most important tips from Stefan Tewes, the founder of “Coffee Fellows”, an up-and-coming café in Germany.

The café chain has now scaled to 230 locations in Germany!

In addition to that, I will add 2 bonus tips that can help you run your own cafe and make it successful.

1st tip: Location, location, location

The importance of the right location for a café cannot be overemphasized. Stefan Tewes emphasizes that the choice of location was crucial to the success of his café. A central city location on a busy corner is an ideal starting point. This ensures good accessibility for commuters, passers-by and the local population. If your café is highly visible and easily accessible, you have already taken the first step towards success.

2nd tip: Southwest orientation

Another factor Tewes considers crucial is the orientation of your café. A south-westerly orientation can help to capture the best hours of sunshine of the day. This creates a pleasant atmosphere for your guests and can also help to reduce energy costs. A cozy ambience combined with sunlight can boost customer loyalty and make your café a popular meeting place.

3rd tip: Tourists in the vicinity

The presence of tourists can have a significant impact on the success of your café. Tourists staying near your location, for example through hotels, are often looking for cozy places to drink coffee and relax. This provides an ideal opportunity to generate additional sales and attract an international clientele.

Podcast episode with Stefan Tewes

2 bonus tips for your successful café

4th tip: Outdoor terrace for summer season

If your café has an outdoor terrace, this can be a big draw for guests in the warmer months. Make sure the terrace is well designed and comfortable, with plenty of seating and sun protection for sunny days. This creates a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere that customers will enjoy.

5th tip: Immediate accessibility

The accessibility of your café is an important aspect. Make sure your café is easily accessible, especially for people with reduced mobility. A barrier-free entrance design and elevators, if the café is located in a multi-storey building, are crucial to appeal to a wide range of customers.

You should remember that

Running a successful café requires dedication, planning and the implementation of proven strategies. The tips we’ve discussed in this article can make all the difference:

1. The right location: Think carefully about where you want to open your café. A central location on a busy corner can be the key to success.
2. South-west orientation: use the sunlight to create a welcoming atmosphere for your guests and reduce energy costs.
3. Tourists nearby: If you are close to tourist attractions, you can benefit from an international audience.

In addition to these tips, we have two bonus tips for you:

4. Outdoor terrace in the summer season: A well-designed outdoor terrace can be a magnet for guests in the warmer months.
5. Immediate accessibility: Make sure your café is easily accessible for everyone to appeal to a wide range of customers.

Remember that the road to success is not always easy, but with passion, determination and the right knowledge, you too can run a thriving café. Be creative, adapt to the needs of your target group and never give up. Your dream of owning your own café can become a reality, and we hope these tips will help you on your way to success!

Civil law partnership: formation, advantages and disadvantages

In the following, you will find out everything you need to know about setting up a GbR. How do you become a partner in a GbR? What are the differences between incomplete and complete companies? What are the advantages? What are the disadvantages? How do I set up a company? What is a company? You’ll get answers to all these questions and more – explained simply and quickly. Plus everything you need to know about taxes and real estate trading.

If you are considering forming a civil law company, you first need to know about the formation process: Who can form what exactly, when and to how many… what are the differences and similarities between the various civil law companies? It is equally important to know the advantages and disadvantages of a GbR: From profit distribution to saving taxes – the seven most important formation criteria for you at a glance.

What are the founding criteria?

1. Number of shareholders
2. Management
3. Foundation
4. Company name
5. Funding
6. Liability
7. Profit distribution

Learn everything important about it here! In addition, you will find all German types of companies and legal forms, as well as tips on how to start a company, including the special case of real estate GmbH, family foundation & Co.

BGB companies at a glance

In the entrepreneurial world, there are many different forms of business you can choose from. They are roughly divided into two categories, namely sole proprietorship and companies, which in turn are divided into incomplete companies – these include dormant companies and BGB companies – and complete companies – partnerships, corporations and some more.

The civil law partnership – GbR for short – is one of the so-called incomplete partnerships and is often also referred to as a BGB partnership because, unlike the complete partnerships, it is not subject to the German Commercial Code (HGB) but to the German Civil Code (BGB). The GbR is an uncomplicated form of corporate law because it can be founded informally and a minimum of only two founding members is required. Since the formation of a GbR is for the purpose of jointly conducting a specific business, it is also referred to as an occasional company.

GbR between private persons

If you want to form a civil law partnership, there are different options for you and your co-founder(s). In fact, most people – knowingly or unknowingly – have already been part of a BGB company at one time or another: if, for example, you form a car pool with your colleagues or go on holiday together with your friends and split the costs between them, you have formed an occasional company in the legal sense. For a common goal, you have joined forces with at least one other person, temporarily or for a longer period of time, and contributed to the fulfilment of this goal under the premise of equality – in this or a similar way, a civil law partnership is informally formed between private individuals.

GbR among freelancers

You are already self-employed and want to found a GbR? No problem! Even between sole traders, the formation of a civil law partnership is not uncommon: Especially in the healthcare and legal sectors, doctors and lawyers like to join forces for a longer period of time. They establish a civil law partnership among freelancers in order to increase their chances on the market or to strengthen their competitiveness or simply to save costs.

GbR among merchants & banking syndicate

As a businessman or businesswoman, you can also join forces with like-minded people and set up an occasional company. For example, if you have a large construction project that you as a craftsman cannot handle alone, you can join forces with other craftsmen for this customer or project to tackle the property together. Once the construction project is complete, everyone goes their separate ways. In this case, it is a matter of founding a civil law partnership among merchants. A special feature here is the merger of banks: If several banks form a GbR – for example, for the purpose of easier organisation of the share issue when a public limited company (AG) is re-established – this is referred to as a banking consortium.

BGB companies in brief:

• GbR between private persons
• GbR among freelancers
• Partnership under business
  • Banking syndicate

Formation process of the GbR: From the number of shareholders to the distribution of profits

Regardless of whether you are a private individual, a freelancer or a merchant: The process of forming a civil law partnership is the same everywhere: For one thing, you need at least one other person to be able to form a GbR. The claim that a GbR is more or less a sole proprietorship, only with more people, is therefore no coincidence. But apart from the question of liability, these two legal forms have little in common.

Doing business together from 2 persons

Although it is possible to appoint a single managing director from among the BGB partners by agreement, all partners usually take over the management jointly and also make joint decisions.

The foundation itself requires a tax identification number – in short: tax ID – which you can apply for at the tax office responsible for your administrative area. Furthermore, you must apply for the registration of a small business at your responsible trade office, which usually costs you about 10 to 65 euros for processing. As a small business BGB company, you are restricted in terms of turnover – this means that you may generate turnover up to a fixed maximum limit of currently 250,000 euros per year. For higher amounts, the civil law partnership is automatically converted into a general partnership – OHG for short – for which entry in the commercial register is mandatory.

Company identification: Full name + GbR

Since you are not registered in the commercial register as a GbR partner, you cannot officially trade. This means that your company does not have a company name, but only a company designation. The company name must consist of your full first name and your surname plus the suffix “GbR”, which indicates the legal form of your BGB company. You are free to expand your company name by naming the industry and/or an imaginary name.

Financing, Liability & Profit

The financing is entirely at your discretion, so you can theoretically do without any start-up capital. However, it is advisable to have certain reserves and to draw up a financing plan in order to be financially prepared in case of unpleasant surprises. The company risk is borne jointly by all partners and they are liable for both business and private matters. Therefore, if something goes wrong and the BGB company falls into arrears and financial difficulties, you must – even in the case of wrong decisions by your co-partner(s) – take unlimited responsibility with your private assets.

Just like the entrepreneurial risk, the profit is also distributed equally. With two founding members, each of you receives 50 percent of the profit. If there are three or more partners, the profit is distributed accordingly per head.

Advantages: Winning by heads, team decision & joint liability.

After presenting the typical characteristics of a BGB company, you have certainly already recognized the advantages that this legal form offers you: The foundation is relatively uncomplicated and you do not need any start-up capital. You are active as a team together with your co-founder(s): You make all company-relevant decisions together, bear the liability risk jointly and share profits equally among yourselves.

• Fast and uncomplicated foundation
• Flexible share capital
• Head split
• Liability risk in the team
• Decisions with little coordination with others
• No disclosure of business figures

Disadvantages: Full liability, turnover restriction & OHG conversion.

The disadvantages of setting up an occasional company can also be quickly identified: On the one hand, you do not have sole decision-making power and must coordinate with your staff of partners. Nevertheless, in case of doubt, you must be fully and completely liable – even privately! even if you were not responsible for the losses. Thirdly, as a GbR you are limited in turnover and have to be careful not to unintentionally change into a OHG. Last but not least: Since a GbR is purpose-bound, a dissolution can be enforced without much effort – it is not made for eternity.

• No sole decision-making power
• Full liability (incl. private assets)
• Limitation of turnover up to 250.000 Euro per year
• Automatic conversion into OHG
• Simple dissolution of the GbR

Evaluation: Start-up without bureaucracy & share capital

After comparing the advantages and disadvantages, it becomes clear that if you like to work in a small and familiar team to achieve a common goal and do not want to overcome any major bureaucratic hurdles, you can get off to a fast and easy start as a GbR. Profits are shared fairly and losses are borne jointly, so that businesses with a manageable risk are particularly suitable as objectives. In addition, a GbR makes sense for entrepreneurs who do not have the necessary share capital for a corporation and/or have a general partnership as their goal.

Immobilien GbR: change of legal form, asset management & Co

You don’t think the idea of a general partnership is a bad idea at all, and now you’re wondering how to combine your partnership with real estate? From form change tricks and private contributions to corporations to real estate brokers and asset management companies. All essential information on real estate partnerships, real estate GbR and real estate KG for you in a nutshell.

Small tip: When acquiring and/or managing real estate, make sure that all details are clearly stated in the partnership agreement. Due to the principle of joint, unlimited and direct liability, you should also make sure that your managing partners are persons with comparable creditworthiness – otherwise there could be difficulties with financing and creditworthiness.

Variant 1: Save taxes through change of legal form trick

As an individual, you would like to contribute your property to a limited liability company (LLC) or other corporation, but the tax levies are too high for you? Then you should consider transferring your property to a partnership. The advantage: registered partnerships can be easily converted into corporations by means of a change of form and you can save the real estate transfer tax!

Change of legal form to a registered partnership

As a partnership under civil law (GbR), you can convert your property into 100 per cent GbR shares as a 100 per cent shareholding and, in the next step, carry out the change of form to a general partnership with entry in the commercial register. This turns the GbR into a full company and, above all, also into a registered partnership, which is the basic prerequisite for the conversion into a GmbH. But watch out: You need another person for the formation, who temporarily joins the company without deductible.

Change of legal form to a corporation after 5 years

The change of legal form to a GmbH is again tax-free in terms of the identity of the legal entity, so that you remain exempt from real estate transfer tax and can still transfer your private property to a corporation. You only have to wait until the five-year lock-up period has expired, because otherwise taxes will still be due retroactively in accordance with the Real Estate Transfer Tax Act (GrEStG). If everything goes smoothly, you are still 100 percent owner and your co-founder can leave the GmbH without any problems.

Variant 2: Real estate agent with business licence

If you want to become a self-employed real estate agent, it’s not that easy. The profession of real estate agent is subject to the trade obligation and is not one of the liberal professions. This means that in order to be able to pursue this activity, you must first apply to the trade licensing office for permission and hope for a positive light. The official permit is required by law, for example to be able to assess your reliability in advance.

Real estate agent OHG, GbR & KG

Partnerships can also operate as real estate agents. However, without their own legal personality, OHGs, GbRs and KGs must obtain an official permit for each individual managing partner. In addition to the application form for permission, further documents must also be submitted. These include:

• A police clearance certificate – available on request from the Residents’ Registration Office;
• An extract from the Trade Central Register – available on request from the Ordnungsamt;
• A tax clearance certificate – available on request from the tax office;
• A certificate of no current insolvency proceedings – available on request from the local court;
• A certificate of missing entries in the debtors’ register – available on request from the local court.

A certificate of competence can also be provided on a voluntary basis.

Variant 3: Asset-managing partnership

If you want to be active in the area of surplus income – i.e.: income from non-self-employed work, capital assets, renting and leasing or other income – an asset-managing partnership could be just right for you. Here you can typically either use the legal form of a GbR or fall back on trading companies regulated in the HGB such as the OHG or KG. Mixed forms such as the GmbH & Co KG are also conceivable in principle, but mean further regulations and requirements.

Participation, say & tax advantages

An asset-managing partnership makes sense if several real estate investors want to manage their real estate holdings jointly. The aspect of ensuring succession in the event of inheritance is also interesting here. The partnership agreement determines how much say the individual partners have – decisions are often made on the basis of shares, but even partners with a small shareholding can gain a dominant voting right – for example, if they have enormous expertise, professionalism or experience.

Tax advantage of such an arrangement? The capital-forming partnership is not the same as the tax object: each partner is taxed individually and all income taxes as well as taxes from inheritance, sale or gratuitous transfer of partnership shares must be reported by each partner individually for tax purposes.

Taxes for BGB partners: income tax, VAT & trade tax

As a GbR partner, you need to know about some types of taxes, because with the establishment of your company, you receive income from your business and must of course also pay tax on this. Tax law stipulates that in addition to the income tax of each partner, further duties must be paid for turnover tax, unless the GbR makes use of the small business regulation. In addition, trade tax is due for commercial enterprises with an annual income of more than 24,500 euros. A GbR among freelancers remains exempt from the trade tax obligation.

• Income tax (ESt)
• Value added tax (VAT)
• If applicable, trade tax (GewSt)

You can find out what taxes you can expect with a real estate corporation here:

• Save taxes on real estate

Conclusion: Civil law partnership – for whom is it worthwhile?

If you are prepared to join forces with other trustworthy people to start your own business quickly and easily, you do not need enormous financial reserves and also pay relatively little tax on your profits. A GbR is therefore ideally suited for young freelancers who want to take their lives into their own hands, not only dream of self-realisation and do not want to wait until they have saved up the necessary start-up capital.

From a real estate point of view, a BGB company is particularly worthwhile for beginners who would prefer to invest their capital directly in the purchase of real estate instead of laying down the share capital for a corporation. If you are successful, however, you should consider converting the casual partnership into a general partnership – if only to reduce the liability risk – or contributing the GbR as a contribution in kind to a GmbH.

You can find out more about general partnerships and limited liability companies here:

• General partnership (OHG)
• Limited liability company (GmbH)

Learn for free: Start a company & legal forms

Besides the civil law partnership (GbR), there are a few other alternative types of companies that could be interesting for you as a founder! You want to learn more about starting a business? Learn more about share capital, taxes and the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of companies.

Here you will find all the legal forms that can be chosen as a founder in Germany and a guide with a checklist:

1. Legal forms: List
2. Founding a company: Procedure, costs and overview

Legal forms: List

Legal forms – What types of company are there? If you want to start your first company, then choosing the ideal legal form is one of the first steps in the process of setting up a company. Whether it’s a special real estate company or a start-up, I’ve summarized all the types of companies in Germany for you here.

• Legal forms: List

Company types in detail:

• Sole proprietorship
• Registered businessman / registered businesswoman (e. K.)
• General partnership (OHG)
• Limited partnership (KG)
• Entrepreneurial company (UG)
• GmbH: Limited liability company
• Real estate GmbH / Asset management GmbH
• Stock corporation (AG)
• Real estate stock corporation (REIT-AG)
• Societas Europaea (SE)
• Foundation / Family Foundation

Starting a company: Procedure, costs and checklist

Founding a company (real estate) – You want to found your first company? Requirements for you as a founder, share capital, shareholder agreements, costs for the foundation, legal forms and checklists. This sounds complicated for beginners, but it is actually quite simple. The process of founding a company is usually relatively the same. I have summarized the foundation here once in simple steps, for you. Learn how to start your own business. After the great guide to all legal forms or types of companies, today a detailed look at the establishment of a (real estate) company for beginners.

• Form a company

Bitcoin Cash (BCH): Facts, Figures & Price

Similar to Litecoin, Ripple & Co., Bitcoin Cash is also a digital currency. It was created in 2017 as a response to Bitcoin’s scaling problems and now allows faster and cheaper transactions of its predecessors, which is why it has been one of the most popular cryptocurrencies worldwide since its launch.

Bitcoin Cash as an answer to Bitcoin’s scaling problems

Before we get right into the origins of Bitcoin Cash and its advantages to Bitcoin in more detail, here are some facts and figures about Bitcoin Cash (BCH):

• Cryptocurrency: Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• Publication: 2017
• Consensus Algorithm: Proof of Work
• Maximum number: 21,000,000
• Average block size: 32 MB

Bitcoin (BTC): pioneer of cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin Cash is therefore a successor to Bitcoin, or BTC for short. This is now not only the best-known cryptocurrency in the world, but is also considered the first cryptocurrency ever. The first digital currency was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto. Who is behind it is still a mystery today. One thing is clear, however: Bitcoin has revolutionized the financial world forever and thus laid the foundation for future, decentralized transactions.

• Read more about the world’s first cryptocurrency: Bitcoin (BTC)here.

If Bitcoin is known for its fast and anonymous transactions, it begs the question: why was Bitcoin Cash invented?

Problem: Low transaction capacity of Bitcoin blocks

While the cryptocurrency Bitcoin is characterized by its fast, inexpensive and anonymous transactions, the scalability of the coin has caused more and more problems in the recent past. Namely, as its popularity grew, not only did Bitcoin fandom grow, but so did the number of transactions. The growing number of transactions eventually led to longer and longer settlement times.

Problem: Too many transactions, too small blocks

Emergence of BCH: spin-off through hard fork

In other words, the transaction blocks developed by Satoshi Nakamoto at the time were now too small with their 1MB. In 2017, things finally came to a head: Bitcoin blockchain users had to wait up to four days for their transactions. A quick solution was needed.

Hard fork: New blockchain with new rationale emerges by splitting the network

The answer? Bitcoin Cash. A hard fork was announced, thus creating a new cryptocurrency (still based on the Bitcoin blockchain) and resolving the scaling issues. The block size of the new Bitcoin Cash protocol was thus increased to 8 MB. This again allowed transactions to be carried out quickly, efficiently and cheaply.

Price development BCH: Total term

Here you can see the Bitcoin Cash rate for the entire term.

Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash – Comparison

What is the difference between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash? Which is better Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash? Does Bitcoin Cash have a better future than Bitcoin? The two currencies are similar in many ways. After all, Bitcoin Cash originated as a hard fork of Bitcoin! But which digital currency comes out on top? Here’s the ultimate comparison between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

Security: Attack resistance and resilience at BTC

What is more secure Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash? Compared to Bitcoin Cash, the transaction blocks are only limited to 1MB, but the pioneer of cryptocurrencies is way ahead in terms of security and attack resistance. Bitcoin owes this to its immense hashing power, which contributes to the security and resilience of the network.

Scaling: Faster and cheaper transactions

Is Bitcoin Cash cheaper and faster than Bitcoin? Yes. Bitcoin’s scaling problem was indeed countered with Bitcoin Cash. However, due to its increasing popularity, both blockchains have now expanded their block sizes. For example, Bitcoin now has a block size of 2MB, while Bitcoin Cash has expanded its transaction blocks to 32MB.

• Bitcoin (BTC): From 1MB to 2MB
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH): From 8MB to 32MB

In other words, Bitcoin can handle about 10 transactions per second, while Bitcoin Cash can handle 213 transactions.

Mining: Less computing power for BCH

Is Bitcoin Cash easier to mine than Bitcoin? This is where Bitcoin Cash clearly outperforms its forerunner. Both currencies are based on the same mining principle, but Bitcoin Cash is far more efficient, faster and easier to mine than Bitcoin. This of course pleases the miners, as they need less computing power than with Bitcoin.

Forecast: Bitcoin remains most popular currency

Although BCH is proving to be faster and cheaper than Bitcoin, Bitcoin’s popularity is slowing down BCH’s price movement. As the pioneer of all cryptocurrencies, and one of the most stable, expensive, and attack-resistant digital currencies in the world since its launch, it is highly unlikely that BCH will ever outperform the well-known Bitcoin.

Crypto alternatives: Ethereum, Dash and Tether

There are now over 4,500 cryptocurrencies. While that sounds like a large amount, only just under 100 of them reach a daily trading turnover of $1,000 or more. Other popular crypto alternatives to Bitcoin Cash include Ethereum, Dash, and Tether! You can find out more about each cryptocurrency here.

Ethereum (ETH): Second generation cryptocurrency

Just like other cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is based on state-of-the-art blockchain technology. Ethereum itself is not a pure cryptocurrency, but can be used for blockchain projects of all kinds. As a decentralized ecosystem, Ethereum is therefore also often used as an open protocol for decentralized applications, such as smart contracts. Ethereum’s own cryptocurrency is called Ether – ETH for short.

• Ethereum

Dash: Continuation of the Bitcoin

Hardly any coin has managed to grow as fast as Dash! The cryptocurrency is considered the sequel to the legendary Bitcoin. Unlike Bitcoin, Dash has the advantage that the hash algorithms are more energy and time efficient. As with its predecessor, transactions here remain secure, fast and efficient.

• Dash

Tether (USDT): Stablecoin defies market fluctuations

Among the top ten most popular cryptocurrencies is Tether. And not without reason! Compared to Bitcoin, Ethereum and Co. it is a stablecoin. The value of Tether is therefore tied to a fiat currency and thus replicates the value of fiat money 1:1. While crypto beginners appreciate the low price fluctuations, the experts in the industry use Tether as an indicator for upcoming market fluctuations.

• Tether

Cryptocurrencies: List

BitCoin, BitCoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, Ripple, Zcash or Binarcy Coin: they are considered the answer to traditional means of payment. The digitization and decentralization of money makes banks superfluous. Only buyers and sellers are responsible for the control and security of their digital money. You too want to invest in Bitcoin & Co? We have an overview of the most popular cryptocurrencies here.

• Cryptocurrencies: List

Trading App: Recommendation

eToro App – Trade stocks, ETF, cryptocurrency, in my blog you have already learned a lot about trading. Lots of questions of course: which app do you trade with, what do I recommend? So today I want to share with you my favorite trading app, eToro. 29.88% asset growth in 12 months, with low risk through “Copy People” and “Copy Portfolios” or up to 127.35% through active trading and trading strategies. Learn about the app, fees and more here step by step.

• Trading App

Trading strategies

Whether it’s crytocurrency, currency trading, stocks, commodities or precious metals, these 3 strategies will help you understand the basic stock market game. I developed these 3 strategies to help beginners and novices understand the mechanics in a nutshell. Since I grew up with bitcoin rather than stocks, here in particular a strong reference to digital currencies. But the mechanisms or strategies are the same for these 5 investment types: crytocurrency, currency trading, stocks, commodities or precious metals. I would exclude ETF and index funds here, as the risks and price fluctuations are significantly lower here.

• Trading strategies